


too absorbed to look

by WitchoftheWaste



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Chess games, Cullen is incredibly awkward of course, Drabble, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Fluff without Plot, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2016-07-26
Packaged: 2018-07-26 22:27:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7592635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WitchoftheWaste/pseuds/WitchoftheWaste
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cullen and Dorian play chess; Cullen makes a mistake that gives away the game, in more ways than one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	too absorbed to look

**Author's Note:**

> This was written about five months ago and then I remembered I never posted it for some reason. Vaguely inspired by part of Pushkin's Evgeny Onegin. And it's obviously unbeta'd, because it's never beta'd with me, so sorry if there are typos.

_Above the chess-board they will sit,_

_And ponder each move's secret meaning,_

_Till Lensky, too absorbed to look,_

_With his own pawn takes his own rook._

* * *

Maker, Dorian was distracting.

Cullen considered himself at least good at chess, but that was when he was playing against his sister or a recruit. Playing against Dorian was a different matter entirely. He was... incredibly gorgeous. And he had a disarming habit of flirting. The combination of the two was devastating.

As if to prove this point, Dorian leant back in his chair, crossing one beautifully shaped leg over the other. With an effort, Cullen tore his eyes away and looked back at the board. Chess. Right. He could do this.

'What's the matter? Have you finally given succumbed to my dastardly attack?'

Cullen glanced up in time to catch a raised eyebrow and a twirl of that impossible moustache, and he felt his stomach do something strange  and his heart started pounding. He closed his eyes briefly. An eyebrow was not something to get excited about, no matter who it was attached to. _Get it together, Rutherford._

'Oh dear. Were you blinded by the brilliance of my scheme?' Dorian seemed comfortable having a one sided conversation, and for that, Cullen was thankful.

Somehow, he managed to find his voice. 'Um... No. I just, erm, am planning my strategy.' He nodded to himself. That sounded good. Yes.

Dorian smile was so surprisingly sweet and indulgent that Cullen felt his heart stutter, and he quickly ran a shaking hand through his hair. _Move a piece,_ he told himself. _Now._

He shifted a pawn forward, almost at random. His thumb smoothed over the rough edge of the piece, but his eyes were fixed on Dorian's face. Without looking down at the board, he removed the rook his pawn had just captured, and leaned back, trying to look satisfied.

But Dorian was the one who looked pleased. In fact, he looked positively smug. His smile managed to be both infuriating and endearing at the same time.

'Commander,' Dorian's voice was almost a purr and that did things to Cullen that he didn't want to think about, 'I believe that's cheating. However much I appreciate your gallant effort to help me win the game, I am perfectly capable of doing it myself.'

Cullen frowned. What was the man on about? His mouth was distracting him again. It was right there and oh, did he have to bite his lip right now? Cullen's breath caught.

Chess; _chess. Look at the damn board._ Cullen finally looked at the move he had just made.

It was only with an extreme effort that he succeeded in not banging his head against the table. Maker's breath, he had taken his own damned rook.

'Ah.' It was all he could say. A hot flush of embarrassment spread over him. He could feel the heat in his face, his skin tingling and itching.

'"Ah" indeed.' Dorian's smile should have been triumphant, but Cullen was sure it had a tinge of - was that? - no, it couldn't be shyness. 'We all agree I'm distracting. For various reasons. But I think we can put your rook back on the board this time.' He moved the offending piece. Cullen, if it was possible, felt himself flush even more hotly.

Before he could reply, Dorian had got up and moved round the table. Cullen had to remind himself how to breathe for a moment. He stood up quickly, and winced as his chair fell to the ground behind him. But Dorian wasn't paying any attention to the chair. He had put a hand on Cullen's waist, and Cullen wanted to scream, because he couldn't feel it through his armour and _where was this going anyway?_

He looked down at the ground, at Dorian's hand, anywhere but his face. Dorian's fingers were so long and slender, Cullen could almost imagine them- No. _No._

And then, Cullen felt Dorian's fingers tugging his chin up, and - don't think, don't feel, don't think, don't feel, don't think, don't feel, don't thi-

And Dorian kissed him, effortlessly cutting through every couldn't, wouldn't, shouldn't in Cullen's mind. 

There was tongue and lips and it made it impossible for Cullen to think about anything except DorianlipsmorepleaseDorian _ohMaker_. And Cullen found himself desperately, breathlessly responding. 

When they finally broke apart, more than a little out of breath, Cullen rested his forehead against Dorian's and offered him a shy smile.

'You know,' he said quietly, I should take my own chess pieces more often.'

Dorian's nose wrinkled adorably. 'Oh, what a horrible thought. I do so like a challenge.'

Cullen pulled away, struck with a flash of uncertainty. Dorian's tone was saucy, and Cullen had been joking originally. Was this all just a joke? Had he just given away all the feelings he had been trying to hide for so long?

Dorian must have seen the look in his eyes, because he gave him a sad smile. 'No, amatus, it was not a joke. Unless you want it to be?' Now Dorian was the one who looked unsure.

And suddenly, Cullen was so sick of all the lies and the hiding, all the back and forth and maybe you don't really like me and maybe you do. It seemed so pointless, so useless, so utterly futile.

So he kissed Dorian. Not a proper kiss. One brush on the lips, a peck on the nose, kisses dropped on the eyelids and the cheeks, on the jaw and the temples. Then, at last, a heated, open mouthed kiss that took Cullen's breath away. Finally, they fell apart and Cullen couldn't help but laugh a little.

'You're giggling,' Dorian's tone was accusing, but the smile on his face betrayed him. 'I gave you what was probably the greatest minute of your life, and your giggling.'

'I'm sorry, and I don't giggle, by the way, but your moustache tickles.' Well, it did. And Cullen absolutely did not giggle. He chuckled. Manfully. Right?

'But isn't it dashing?' Dorian cocked his head on one side thoughtfully. 'And, if we're going there, your stubble is rather abrasive.'

'Oh, should I get rid of it?'

'Maker, no.' Dorian trailed his fingertips along Cullen's jaw. 'It's much too pretty to look at.'

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are very much loved and appreciated. (And sometimes tearfully pressed to my chest, but don't tell anyone about that!)


End file.
